Mike Pearson-Specter
by rosaliecoolcool
Summary: Slices of life of the Pearson-Specter family.
1. Chapter 1

This is the first chapter of a multi-chapter fanfiction where Jessica Pearson and Harvey Specter adopt Mike Ross. However, these two are not in a relationship.

I am French Canadian and I did not beta'd read it. If there is any mistakes I should know about, let me know in a review.

This chapter contains death.

Disclaimer: I do not own Suits or the characters

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"Don't worry about it, Nina" Jessica told her old friend over the phone in her office "Mike and I are going to have a blast tonight. Enjoy your date with James, we're going to be just fine."

"I know, I'm just worried, we haven't had a date night in forever and I don't know how Mike's going to react."

The two women were friends since high school and even the years passing by couldn't separate them. Their relation has been even stronger when Nina got pregnant of her son and named Jessica as a godmother.

"I love Mike and he loves me. You are going to go to see _Hamilton_ on Broadway, then you are going to catch a dinner at this fancy restaurant I told you about. After that, you will have the house all to yourselves to do what you want, whether it is having sex or sleeping late because you won't have a 4 years old child jumping at 6 in the morning to watch cartoons." Jessica heard her friend laugh on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, you're right. I must get back to work. I'll be dropping Mike off at 6 tonight." Nina told her.

"Of course. Can't wait to see you and my wonderful godson."

"Bye Jess see you later" Nina hung up the phone.

The managing partner at Pearson-Hardman returned to her work. She then saw a figure in the doorway of her office, watching her.

"Harvey, since when can you listen to my private conversation." She said, her eyes focus on the file on her desk.

"Since when do you have a private life?" the senior partner answered." Beside you never mentioned having a godson."

"Do you have a godson, Harvey?" Her employee looked at her awkwardly. "You don't want to tell me, and I don't really care."

"You know it's the same thing you told me when I learned you were married to Quentin." Harvey told her smugly.

"Well, I guess you never learn to keep your head out of my business. Now, what can I do for you?"

Harvey explained to her the latest details of the merger between two of his clients. It was a pretty big deal that the law firm would largely benefit. He then left her office leaving her alone.

She started packing her things at 5 when Harvey re-entered her office, bringing new information.

"Whoa! You're leaving at 5 tonight? What's the occasion?" He exclaimed, rather surprised.

"I have a date" Jessica said, matter-of-factly.

"Wouldn't be with your wonderful godson?" he asked, seeing right through her.

She just smiled as she continued to pack her stuff. "Unless Lincoln Industry is planning on beginning WW3, I don't want to hear it. I'm sure you can deal with this yourself or it can wait tomorrow." She put on her scarf and left without a glance to her senior partner.

"Enjoy your night!" She heard him shout behind her.

As soon as she arrived at her house, Jessica started to make her famous homemade pizza which Mike adored more than anything. She was sure half the pleasure he had coming at her house was eating everything she cooked for him. She then set up her guest room for Mike to sleep in.

At exactly 6 pm, there was a knock at the door, following by little giggles from outside. When Jessica opened the door, she saw little Mike grinning -like always- with his mother Nina. The 4 years old child was standing with his backpack full of clothes and toys for the night. He was holding colorful flowers in his small little hands.

"Aunt Jessica! These are for you" he said, handing the flowers to his godmother while jumping up and down.

"Mike, they are really beautiful"

"The florist said they were roses, orchids, daffodils and gerberas" Mike was incredibly curious about things and he was remarkably smart. He had begun preschool in the fall and his teacher never fell to tell his parents how good he was.

"Thank you so much, come and help me look for a vase." Jessica told him, making him and Nina enter her house.

"It is not much but I wanted to give you something to thank you for looking after Mike tonight." Nina told her.

"You didn't have to give me anything. I love spending the night with Mike." Jessica smiled at her friend. She then turned to her godson "Mike, come say goodbye to your mother, she is leaving"

Mike had found mugs in her cabinets and he was putting one flower in each mug and aligning them on the kitchen counter. When he heard his name being called, he came running and crashed into his mother's legs, hugging her. "Bye Mommy. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Mikey, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you and be good for Jessica." Nina told him, hugging him back.

"I love you too" he answered, letting go of her to let her leave. He then went back to his flowers.

Jessica walked Nina to the door. "Be careful tonight. I think there is a snowstorm coming our way tonight." She told her long-time friend.

"Of course, Jess we will. Call us if there's anything." The two women bid their goodbyes and Nina left Jessica's house.

The managing partner went back to the kitchen only to find out that Mike had run out of mugs to use for his flowers and he had found glasses to put his flowers.

"Mike, how about we put all of the flowers inside one big vase?" Jessica asked him.

"But aunt Jessica, the flowers need lots of water for the photosynthesis to happen!"

How Mike knew about this word, Jessica didn't know but she couldn't help but chuckle at him.

Jessica was in the middle of a magnificent dream where she was kicking Hardman's butt out of the firm. She had Harvey Specter and Louis Litt by her sides as the new partners of the firm.

She was giving a speech about how Hardman had stolen millions of dollars of the firm's money when she heard her cellphone ringtone. Slowly waking up, she searched on her nightstand the buzzing device till she found it.

"Hello" she answered with a sleepy voice.

"Miss Pearson, this is Dr. David from the Bellevue Hospital Center. Sorry to wake you but there has been an emergency concerning Nina Ross and her husband and you need to come soon seeing as you are their emergency contact."

It took a moment for Jessica to fully realized what the doctor was saying, but as soon as the words registered in her brain, she was up and putting clothes on.

"What happened?" she asked the doctor. She had a bad feeling about all of this.

"I would prefer not to tell you over the phone, but they were involved in a car crash and they require medical care."

"Of course, I'll be there soon with their son Mike." She then hung up the phone. She went to the guest room where Mike was sleeping. He was surrounded by the toys he had brought last night. He had thrown a fit the night before because he wanted his Mommy and Jessica had allowed him to sleep with his toys.

She went by his side and shook him awake. He stirred silently. "Mike, I need you to wake up now and get dressed. We have somewhere to be."

"Where?" he asked, sleepily.

Jessica didn't know how much she could tell him. She didn't know much herself. "There has been an accident. We need to go and see your parents."

Mike's baby blue eyes filled with tears. "Mommy? Daddy? What happened?"

"I don't know, sweetheart" Jessica answered honestly.

She got him to put on a shirt and pants. She then put on his coat and scarf and they were good to go.

Jessica was happy that she had already a car seat and she got Mike buckled up. She then went behind the wheels and got started.

They arrived at the hospital 30 minutes later when normally, it would have taken 15 minutes because of the terrible weather. Mike had spent the entire way asking question about what had happened and when he realized he wouldn't know, he started crying. He then fell asleep in his car seat. With a sleeping Mike in her arms, Jessica went to the first nurse station she saw.

"I came to see Nina and James Ross. I am Jessica Pearson, their emergency contact." The nurse looked at her and then did a search on her computer.

"They're both in ICU for the moment. They were in a severe car crash. If you wait right here, I'll send Dr. David to see you and tell you more."

Jessica followed her instruction with Mike still in her arms. He still had tears tracks on his cheeks. He looked so peacefully. She knew whatever the doctor would tell them, this peaceful look would disappear. She also knew that, whatever happened, she would be with him till his parents would get better and take care of him.

It wasn't long before a blond doctor walk through the waiting room and went straight to Jessica.

"Miss Pearson?" he asked.

"Yes, that would be me. And this Mike Ross, Nina's and James' son." She said, gesturing to the small boy still sleeping in her arms.

"Follow me this way." Dr. David gestured.

Jessica came behind him. "What happened to the Ross?" she asked the question that has been burning her tongue ever since she arrived.

"Their car was percussed by a truck. What we understood is that the road was icy, and the truck couldn't stop and crashed into Nina's and James' car." Dr. David told her before continuing. "They are both in ICU, I'm not going to lie to you, it's not looking too good. Right now, I am afraid that we are fearing for Mr. James Ross' life. As for Nina's, she's more stable but she's not out of the woods."

Jessica instinctively brought Mike closer to her and hugged him hard. She couldn't believe it. Her friends were in danger and she had to stay strong for the little boy in her arms.

"What now?" she asked the doctor.

"You can go and check on your friends. I can make sure a nurse look after young Mike. I think it's better for him not to see them for now."

"Of course," Jessica said. Just at the same time, Mike begun to stir.

"Mommy" he whined

Jessica tried to get him to go back to sleep, but soon enough, Mike was wide awake, and he was looking everywhere around him looking for his parents. The young boy soon realized where he was, and he became agitated. Jessica tried to sooth him. "Mike, calm down. You're going to go with a nurse, she's going to show you around."

"Mommy? Daddy?" Mike called, still not fully understanding what was happening. He wiggled to try and get out of Jessica's arms. She put him on the floor on his feet and looked in his eyes.

"Mike, I need you to stay calm. I'm going to see what happened with your parents and then I'll come and get you."

Dr. David took Mike's hand and led him to the nurse station before the boy could say something.

Jessica stood there watching through the glass doors of the ICU. She couldn't spot her friends. She thought about how her world was about to change if they died. It was a real possibility and she needed to face it.

Dr. David returned, without Mike. "I'll show Mr. Ross first and then we'll go and see Mrs. Ross" the doctor told Jessica pushing the doors open. They headed to the second bed on the right. There was a curtain around it and Dr. David went through. Jessica followed him.

She couldn't have possibly prepared for what she saw on the other side. James was lying there, looking lifeless. He was extremely pale, and he had tubes and machines everywhere around him. He had long cuts on his face. The doctor began talking to her. "The truck hit James' side of the car. He took most of the impact. He has broken vertebras, but we are most worried about the major hit he took to the head. His most recent scan showed minor brain activity. We are not able to determine when or if Mr. Ross will wake up. I'm so sorry Miss Pearson." While the doctor was talking, Jessica couldn't help but look at James. She realized how close to death he was. Her eyes filled with tears. She had known James for almost a decade and she always pictured him in her life along with Nina and Mike.

Jessica turned to the doctor. "I need to see Nina" she decided. Dr. David walked to the other bed right beside James'. He pulled the curtain open and Jessica followed him to her friend's bedside. She looked better than James, but she still was not out of the woods. Jessica took her friend's hand in hers. She was cold to the touch.

"Mrs. Ross suffered has a few broken ribs and one that punctured one of her lungs. Also, one piece of glass of the crash impaled her and it affected her heart. She had multiple internal bleedings and we could stop them, but we don't know for sure she has not more. We are hoping that she will wake up in a few hours." The doctor cited all of Nina's injuries. Jessica took a seat beside her friend, still holding her hand. "I know you want to stay close to your friends, but they will need to rest. I suggest that you get home maybe catch some sleep and find someone to look after Mike before coming back." The doctor instructed. Jessica could only nod her head, still looking at Nina's pale and cold skin. She was shocked to see her friend, usually always happy and full of life, on an hospital bed, close to death.

Dr. David put a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort. The lawyer got back on her feet and went to the nurse station without looking behind her. She had to stay strong for Nina and James but especially for Mike. With that in mind, she went to find the little boy. He was sitting in a chair in front of the nurse station, reading a medical magazine.

"Hey Mike, we need to go" Jessica told him. He looked up from his magazine.

"Where are Mommy and Daddy?" He asked, looking straight at Jessica.

The managing partner went to him and crouched down to his level. "The doctors are doing what they can to make them feel better. Right now, we need to go to my house, we'll pick some things and I'll drop you off at my special friend's home."

Mike began to whine at hearing the plans. "Nooooo, I wanna see Mommy." His eyes filled with tears.

Jessica didn't know how to handle the boy's emotions. She didn't know what would happen and she didn't want to upset him more than needed. Losing both of his parents at a young age would be the hardest thing to happen.

"Mike, I need you to listen to me. We can't do anything tonight. We are going to get some rest at home and then we will see what happens." She took the little boy's hand and lead him out of the hospital. He had tears rolling down his cheeks silently. Jessica's heart broke at the sight. She wanted to make everything better, but nothing she would say could make this better. She put him in his car seat drove carefully to her house. The snowstorm was still at full blast. Jessica checked a few times in her rear-view mirror to make sure Mike was still all right. By the time she arrived at her house, Mike had stopped crying and he was looking silently through the window. She got him out and lead him to her guest bedroom. His toys were still everywhere on the bed. The little boys must have been exhausted because he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes wordlessly.

Jessica picked up his backpack and started to put his scattered toys inside the bag. She then closed the door to the room and went to take a hot shower. She knew she needed the sleep, but she also knew she wouldn't be able to get any sleep till the morning. It was nearly 5 in the morning and she couldn't do head back to the hospital before 7 am. She might as well get some work done. After her shower she got dressed and headed to her home office. She tried for 30 minutes to work on her briefs, but her mind still wandered to her friends in the hospital. She couldn't sit with her arms crossed and do nothing. She got up and headed to the guest bedroom where Mike was sleeping. She approached the bed and saw that he had a frown on his face. His breath was more laboured. Probably a nightmare. Jessica ran a hand through his hair and got beside him on the queen-size bed. Instantly, his features softened, and his breathing became normal.

Jessica stayed there, lying next to him and running a hand through his hair. She made a vow to herself. Whatever would happen in the next few hours, she would always be by Mike's side. He was now her number one priority, even if it costed her career.

They laid in bed for an hour or two, Jessica dozing off from time to time. When Mike started to stir, it was 7 am. Jessica got up with him and she got started on breakfast. She made them toast with peanut butter and an orange juice for Mike, a coffee for herself.

"Are we going to see Mommy and Daddy?" Mike asked as he was eating.

Jessica swallowed her coffee before answering "I need you to stay with my friend for today and then we'll see later how they are doing. They need a lot of rest." She explained to the little boy.

Mike nodded his head, even though he did not agree with what Jessica was telling him. He finished his toast and went to get changed. Jessica put the dishes in the sink and went to get dressed herself.

They met at the front door 20 minutes later, Mike with his backpack full of toys.

"You're going to stay with Donna and Harvey while I go to the hospital" Jessica explained, and Mike nodded his head.

The managing partner got the boy in his car seat and they left for the Pearson Hardman law firm.

Jessica led him directly to Harvey's office. Donna was at her own office, and Jessica went to see her first. "Donna, I need you to show Mike around the office while I talk to Harvey."

"Of course, Jessica. It will be my pleasure." The secretary took Mike's little hand in hers and started to show him. "So, Mike, would you like to see the file room?" Jessica heard them chatter as she entered Harvey Specter's office.

"What do I owe the pleasure?" He asked when he saw Jessica entering his office.

"I need you to keep an eye on Mike for today. His parents were in a car crash last night and they're both wound up."

"Doesn't he have a nanny you can call? We are not babysitters, Donna and I." Harvey wasn't very found of kids. As a lawyer, he knew how to put children's interest first, but he never really has the desire to have some of his own.

"Mike doesn't have a nanny. And I don't want him in the hand of someone I can't trust right now. He needs someone who will entertain him for the day." Jessica answered him. "Besides, I think you do owe me one for all the times I got you out of trouble."

Harvey wasn't happy with the idea, but he had to admit Jessica was right. "Alright, but I need to get some work done too. So, I'm afraid he'll have to stay with Donna too."

"As long as you keep the kid happy, I'm good with that." Jessica left his office. Mike was just coming back from his grand tour of the place.

"Aunt Jessica! I saw the big library! And there was a room with a lot of files, and I met someone named Louis!" Mike was the happier Jessica had seen him since she had woken him up the night before.

"That's awesome kiddo! Listen, I got to go. You'll be good for Donna and Harvey, right?"

Mike nodded his head and went to fish something in his backpack. He got a teddy bear out and gave it to Jessica.

"Can you give this to Mommy and Daddy? Teddy will make them feel better, like he makes me feel better" he asked with big blue eyes.

Jessica could not refuse him. The boy had his heart on his sleeve. She took the bear with a sad smile. "Of course, Mikey. I'm sure your parents are going to be happy to see Teddy." She said.

Donna was looking at the interaction with a smile. She could tell it was a serious situation, or Jessica wouldn't have put the little boy in their care. She had known Mike or a little over 15 minutes, but she could already tell he was smart and curious. He liked to read and to learn things. Harvey and she wouldn't have any problem at keeping him entertain for the day. Even tough Harvey had seemed reluctant to take care of him, Donna knew the senior partner will appreciate Mike's company.

Jessica hugged the little child and bid her goodbyes to Mike. She glanced at Harvey through the glass doors, wordlessly telling him to take good care of the boy.

"I'll phone if there is anything." The managing partner said and left the building.

Mike watched her leave. Donna could tell the little boy had a heavy heart, but he kept it together despite his young age. "Come on, Mike. Let's do some puzzle" she had noticed there was a few in his backpack so the kid must like it. He nodded his and took out a 500 pieces-puzzle. "Wow, this is some grown up puzzle you got there little Mike" Donne couldn't help but be impressed by the boy. She led him inside Harvey's office and got him settled on the glass table under the watchful eyes of one Harvey Specter.

Donna introduced the two men. "Mike, this is Harvey. Harvey, this is Mike, Jessica's godson. Be good, boys" she then left Harvey's office to go back to work, but she made herself a mental note to check on Mike from time to time.

The senior partner looked up from his brief to look inspect the kid. He was short and kind of skinny but not in an unhealthy way. He had dirty blond hair and baby blue eyes that probably could get him anything. The kid was looking at him, probably waiting for some kind of instructions.

"You play there quietly and maybe I'll show you my baseball collection" the attorney didn't know why he made that promises. He never let anyone see let alone touch his collections. There was something about the child that made Harvey want to wrap him in a bubble.

The kid smiled and shyly got to work and his puzzle. Seeing that Mike was busy and silent, Harvey got back to work.

It was an hour later that Harvey realized that he had completely forgotten about the child in his office. He had been quiet all morning and had not bothered the attorney once.

Harvey looked up from his brief and saw that the kid was reading a law book. The closer got up to his feet and went to see him. "Hey, this is some grown-up book you're reading, it must be boring." The kid jumped at the voice. He looked up at Harvey from his spot on the couch.

"No, I love to read" Mike answered simply.

"Well, what does it say?" Mike was reading the BarBri Legal Handbook. Harvey knew it was a hard book to understand and while the child was reading the words, he probably was not understanding them.

"It says "Civil liability associated with agency is based on several factors, including the deviation of the agent from his path, the reasonable inferene of agency on behalf of the plaintiff, and the nature of the damages themselves."" Mike answered the lawyer.

Harvey had a hard time keeping his mouth from gaping at the kid. He just recited word by word the law book!

"Well, you have a good memory" the lawyer praised. Mike just shrugged his shoulders. "I think you were enough of a good boy to show you the basketball Michael Jordan signed for me last month" Harvey watched as Mike's eyes got bigger and were shining.

Donna looked up from her computer and saw the two men smiling and laughing with each other while looking at Harvey' sport collection. She couldn't help but smile at them. She knew deep down that Harvey was able to have feelings.

Jessica was sitting by Nina's bedside. The hospital had moved Nina from the ICU to a private chamber earlier. She had her friends' hand in hers. He other hand was clutching Mike's teddy bear. The managing partner was silently crying. They had pronounced James' death a little over an hour ago. Dr. David had come to her when she arrived at hospital telling her that the men was brain dead and he didn't have a chance to wake up. It destroyed Jessica. The car crash had destroyed Mike's chance to have a father and Nina's husband. Jessica couldn't believe it. She was feeling a lot of emotions and didn't know how to handle them.

Jessica also had the task to tell Mike. The little boy's life would be changed forever, and nothing would bring back his father. He would have to grown up fatherless. No one would be with him when he won his first baseball match, when he graduated school and when he got married. All of that had been robbed from him.

Jessica never believed in God or in any religions, but she couldn't help but pray for the first time in her life. She prayed for Mike's wellness, for Nina's recovery, for all of this to be a bad dream. She wouldn't be able to go through everything alone and she needed an exterior force. If God really existed, he would make everything better because Nina and Mike were good people and good people deserved the best.

She was in the middle of a prayer when she felt Nina's hand move under hers. Jessica immediately tightened her hold on the hand and called a nurse by pressing a button. Nina's eyes moved under her eyelids and it was clear she was about to wake up. A nurse came in and checked the patient's vital.

"Mrs. Ross, can you open your eyes for me?" the nurse called. Nina's eyes just moved faster.

"Come on, Nina, you can wake up" Jessica encouraged.

They heard a groan from the patient. A few moments later, Nina slowly opened her eyes and looked around her.

"Mike" she called, weakly.

"He's with a friend. He is all right" Jessica reassured her.

It was clear that Nina was in a lot of pain. She had difficulty to breath correctly.

"Take care of him" Nina said, looking straight at Jessica's eyes. She then started to close her eyes and Jessica saw on the heart monitor that her heartbeat was slowing.

"No no no no, you will get better and you will take care of Mike" Jessica's eyes filled with tears. She was feeling her friend was giving up. Beside her, the nurse was calling a doctor and trying everything she could to save Nina's life.

Nina took one last look at Jessica before falling unconscious.

The next moments were a blur in Jessica's mind. Doctors entered the room and gently but firmly pushed Jessica out of the room. She got to the waiting room.

Later in the day, you could see a doctor entering the waiting room looking for Jessica Pearson, Nina Ross' emergency contact. He would her tell her how there was complications in Nina's recovery and she unfortunately didn't make it. The women in front of the doctor would break down. The doctor would offer his sympathy, but nothing would comfort the women.

Jessica had just lost her friend and her husband. But more importantly, this couple had a young son and this little one would never have the same life again. Jessica felt sadness, but it would be nothing when Mike heard the news. His whole life, he had been with his parents and they adored him. Now, he was an orphan.

But Jessica wouldn't let Mike alone. Never in a thousand year. It was her duty to take him under her wing. From now on, nothing would happen to Mike Ross. She would make sure of that, over anything in her life, including her successful career.


	2. Chapter 2

It has been 3 months since Mike started to live with Jessica. Gradually, they became accustomed to being around each other in Jessica's house. She changed completely her guest bedroom for Mike. They had moved Mike's things from his old house to Jessica's. Mike was still grieving his parents and Jessica tried to be with him every step of the way.

If Mike wasn't at pre-school, he spent his time at the Pearson-Hardman law firm. He loved being around and the other lawyers loved having him around. He was full of life and he was curious about the world around him.

Mike got along quite well with Donna. She was like a cool aunt. She liked to spoil him, and she always had candy in her desk.

He specially developed strong feelings for Harvey. The two of them had spent a lot of time together. Harvey liked the little boy's company in his office. The two of them could talk for hours about baseball, basketball and sport stats. They also quoted movies they knew by heart. When Jessica was too busy to take care of Mike, it was a pleasure for Harvey to step in. Mike also liked having a strong male figure in his life. He could always count on Harvey. The two boys got along so well. They were even partners in crime: they would team up to prank Louis around the office, without the lawyer knowing who the pranksters were. Harvey had so much fun teaching Mike everything he knew, and Mike couldn't get enough of learning.

It surprised everyone in the firm except for Donna and Jessica. The two women knew Harvey better than anyone else. He was a softie on the inside. And Mike was just so adorable, no one could resist him. He was cute, well-behaved, and he knew how to charm his way to have what he wanted. It was hard to understand how someone could not like him.

Mike was currently sitting in Jessica's office, working on a puzzle. She had transformed a part of her office in a play pen for Mike. He loved it. Each day, he couldn't wait to finish preschool and go directly to his play pen when Jessica's driver picked him up.

Jessica was glad she could bring some happiness in the boy's life despite the tragedy that had happened. She was his temporarily legal guardian and she was currently waiting for the social services to approve of her to become Mike's legal guardian and eventually to adopt him. She was sure it was only a matter of time before she would get the papers giving her the approval.

In the meantime, she was taking care of him like a mother would. She knew the little things he liked her to do. They had developed a routine at night. When they arrived home, she would prepare a filling meal -pizza and spaghetti were his favorites-, they would eat together while talking about anything. They would watch a little bit of TV together pf they would play together and if it was early enough, Jessica would put a movie and Mike wouldn't stop talking about it the day after to Harvey. She then made him take a bath, that she filled with bubbles. When he was clean, he would put on pajamas -she must wash his Batman pajamas every 2 days to make sure he doesn't go to bed naked, he wouldn't wear any other one. She then read to him a bedtime story. She must carefully choose which story she would read to him to ensure it wasn't too babyish. He would then fall asleep in her arms. It was her favorite moment of the day. Just her and Mike, on his single bed, snuggling close. Every night, she cherished these moments. When she was ready to go to bed, she placed a single kiss on his forehead and left, leaving the door halfway open.

They had developed a strong bond and Jessica knew nothing could remove this from her.

The managing partner could see from the corner of her eyes that Mike had finished his puzzle and had moved to start a castle with Lego's.

Her office phone rung and Jessica quickly picked it up. "Jessica Pearson speaking"

"Hi Miss. Pearson, this is Nathalie from the social services. How are you this afternoon?"

Jessica immediately stopped working on the file in front of her. The social worker had her entire attention.

"I'm fine. How can I help you today?" Jessica wasn't the one to beat around the bush. She got to the point.

"I was wondering if it would be possible to meet you and Mike this evening to discuss your plans to become Mike Ross' permanent legal guardian."

Jessica jumped internally. Finally, this evening, she would be sure that Mike was going to live with her permanently.

"Of course, what time will you be there?" Jessica asked.

"Let's say 6?" Nathalie answered from the other side of the line.

Jessica agreed to it, and the women could hang up the phone. The managing partner sighed a sigh of relieve and called Harvey.

"Yes, Mrs. Pearson" she heard him answered.

"Harvey, I need to leave earlier today. I have a meeting with the social services."

"Well it's about time, I was wondering if they had forgotten about you" came his response. Harvey would be the happiest to learn Mike was sticking around.

Jessica just smiled. "Tell me tomorrow if there's anything urgent. I'll leave with Mike in a few minutes" she told him. When she looked at the clock, she saw that it was already 4pm and she needed to clean her house a little to welcome the social worker.

"Mike, clean up a little bit. We're going home." Mike perked up when he heard that. Going home early meant he could watch a movie in the evening. Donna had brought him the new Spider-man and he couldn't wait to watch it with Jessica. As fast as he could, he picked up his toys around in his play pen while Jessica was finishing to proofread the brief in front of her.

Soon enough, they were both good to go. When they arrived in their house, Jessica told Mike to clean up his room and when it was the cleanest room in the house, she would set up his new movie to watch while she prepared dinner.

Mike had finished quickly, and Jessica went to check it. She nodded her head at seeing he did a great job and set up his new Spider-man movie.

In less than no time, it was 6pm and there was a knock at the door. Mike wasn't bothered by it; he was too engrossed in his movie. Jessica went to answer the door.

"Hi Nathalie, come in" she greeted.

Nathalie was their social worker. She was in her mid thirties and she has dirty blonde hair. She had a nice smile, but she knew how to be intimidating.

The social worker entered the modern house. She took a good look inside. She seemed to make a mental note of everything she saw.

"Where is Mike?" Nathalie finally asked.

"In the living room, he's watching a movie, I'll go and collect him"

"No need" the social worker stopped Jessica. "Let him. I need to talk to you for a second."

Jessica led her to dining table where she offered water and coffee. Nathalie refused before moving on to the important business. "I need to talk to you about the permanent guardianship you asked."

Jessica felt the colors draining from her face. Nathalie hasn't said a thing and yet, by the tone of her voice, Jessica could tell it wasn't good news as she had hope.

"What about it?" the managing partner asked. There was still a little it of hope that she had misinterpret the social worker and nothing was wrong.

"We checked your profile. You have a good home and a good income to take care of a child."

"But?" Jessica wanted the social worker to go straight to point.

"But your working schedule doesn't let you take care of a child. You work nearly 80 hours a week. You don't have time to take care of a child. Mike needs you to be there for him."

Jessica had promised herself to do whatever it took to ensure Mike would stay with her. She knew it could cost her career, but she hadn't known it would be so soon.

The social worker continued talking "We won't reject your permanent guardianship yet. If you can manage to have another work schedule, we'll authorize you being his legal guardian."

Jessica didn't know what to answer. She was ready to give up anything for Mike, but it was a lot to take in.

The social worker stood up. "I must get going. It was a pleasure talking to you." She went to the door, leaving Jessica thinking at the kitchen table.

She cared deeply about her career. She had made sacrifices for it. She was proud of where she was and the choices she had made in order to be where she was.

But she cared more about Mike. He was her number one priority. So, in the morning, she would talk to Daniel Hardman, giving him all the firm. If she were lucky, Harvey would step up and become managing partner alongside the trash that was Daniel Hardman.

She poured herself a glass of wine and joined Mike in the living room. As soon as she sat down on the couch, Mike snuggled close to her and at that moment, Jessica knew she made the right choice.

* * *

The next morning started like the others. When Jessica woke up, she got started on breakfast for her and Mike, waiting for the boy to wake up. Mike then came down the stairs, excited about the new day. They ate together and Mike told Jessica all about his day to come at preschool. Jessica smiled at the boy, but she couldn't shake the worry off her chest. She was about to make a big decision that would change her career and change the Pearson Hardman law firm.

When they finished breakfast, the two of them went to get dressed and ready for the day. Jessica's driver was waiting for them outside. He drove to Mike's preschool and the little boy got off. Normally, Jessica would watch him from the car till he entered the school, but, this morning, she got out of the car with him. She went around the car and kneeled to his height.

"You know I love you, right?" She asked him. In the three months they've spent together, they've never said those three words to each other. It seemed like an insult to Mike's parents and a way of telling them that Jessica was replacing them. But at the moment, she didn't care. She was about to take one of the biggest decisions concerning her career and she needed him to know she would always be there for him and she was putting him first.

Mike seemed surprised but content at her declaration. He hugged her close and whispered in her ear: "I love you too, Jessica" They hugged until the bell was heard, signaling the students that they had to get going. Jessica and Mike parted and bid their goodbyes.

When Jessica re-entered the car, her eyes were filled with tears. She motioned for her driver to take her to the Pearson-Hardman law firm. On the way there, she calmed down enough to be able to decide what she would say to Hardman. She pictured his victory face and she wanted to punch a wall.

Her driver dropped her off at the law firm. She was about to be alone on the way up on the elevator, when a hand stopped the doors from closing and Harvey Specter joined her.

"Hello there" he greeted his boss. She merely nodded at him. Harvey was not the best closer in the city for nothing and he immediately noted something was wrong with Jessica.

"Something didn't go well with the social services?" he guessed.

Jessica immediately tensed. She didn't want him to know what was wrong, because she knew he would try and convince her to stay managing partner. He hated Hardman with all his guts.

But she didn't want to lie to him and, maybe, he would be able to cheer her up. "The social worker saw that I was unfit to be Mike's guardian because of my schedule. But, as a managing partner, I can't afford to cut my working hours."

"This is ridiculous" Harvey exclaimed. "They can't see how good you are at your job."

"Well, I got an ultimatum. Either I let Mike go to a foster family, or I resign as managing partner and I ask Hardman for a job as senior partner"

"Well, both of these choices won't happen" Harvey was quick to answer.

"Well, I don't think I have a choice if I want to keep Mike happy"

The elevator doors opened before them and they stepped inside the building. Jessica directly went for Hardman's office, but she was stopped by Harvey.

"Listen, when someone arrives with a gun, you think you can either die or give them the money. But you're wrong. There are 146 other options. Giving Mike up and resigning are neither of those options."

"What do you want me to do, Harvey?"

"Hire a nanny! Find a boyfriend! I don't care. You need someone else to take care of Mike" Harvey told Jessica. Just the thoughts of losing Mike or losing Jessica as managing partner was unbearable to him.

"Well, yeah Harvey, I'll find someone who is willing to work every night and every week-end. And where can I find a boyfriend in such a short notice." Jessica was getting tired of having this conversation with Harvey. She just wanted to see Hardman and get this done and over with. "I already lost a marriage because of my work. I don't want to lose Mike too."

Jessica could see Harvey was thinking. She was about to leave and go to Hardman's office, when he stopped by her by placing a hand on her arm. She would never forget what he told her and that would change their lives forever. "I'll help you take care of Mike" he said.

"What?" Jessica was having a hard time understanding what he was saying.

"I'll apply for permanent legal guardianship with you" Jessica could not believe what she was hearing. The cold and heartless Harvey Specter was ready to take care of a child.

"Mike is not a toy you can play with and then toss later, Harvey" Jessica was growing upset. Who did he think he was, pretending he could take under his wing a small little boy who just lost his parents.

"I know that" their discussion was becoming more heated and Harvey led them to the conference room. "I want Mike to be happy just as you do"

"Why?" Jessica asked. She needed to know if Harvey was serious about this.

"I c..." Harvey started to say before stopping himself. He could not dare to say it.

"You care about Mike" Jessica guessed.

"Yes" the senior partner admitted. The woman knew how serious he was about the situation if he was willing to admit his feelings to her.

"Ok" she conceded. It would make everything easier if there was someone with her to take care of Mike.

"Listen to what we'll do" Harvey sat down at the conference table and explained his plan.

* * *

"I must say I was surprised to hear from you this early, Jessica." Nathalie, the social worker, told the managing partner as she was entering her house for the second time in two days.

"Yes, well, I came up with an idea and I think you're going to like it." Jessica smiled at the woman.

In the background, Nathalie could hear the TV playing. "Where's Mike?" she asked.

"He's watching a movie. I'll call him." Jessica told her. "Mike! Harvey! Come here, boys." She called before the social worker could say anything. They heard feet coming from the living room.

The social worker was surprised to see Mike with a handsome man in a three-pieces suit following him.

"Nathalie, this is Harvey. He is my good friend." Jessica introduced them. "I work with him" she added. She invited everyone to sit down at the kitchen table.

"I take it you found a way to make your working schedule more available for Mike" Nathalie guessed.

"Well, Harvey will sign up for permanent guardianship with me" Jessica explained. "Between the two of us, we can make a schedule where Mike will be home early enough and will not have to be rush to be at school in the morning. He will grow up with two people" she said with a smile.

"Do you live together?" the social worker asked.

"No, but my condo is a ten-minute walk from here" Harvey said. "Our friendship is really strong. We won't have any problem raising Mike together. Besides, Mike is really excited to come and live with me." Mike had been over the moon when he heard their plan. He loved Harvey and Jessica and he was truly happy to have both in is life.

But the social worker seemed hesitant. She had never seen a situation like this before. "I don't know" she said. "Do you think you'll be able to give Mike a stable life?" she asked the attorneys.

"Yes" Jessica immediately answered. "I'm sure of it"

They discussed the smaller details and how they would organize their life the three of them. Jessica would be with Mike most of time but when she would be stuck at the office, Harvey would step up and take care of Mike.

They also had put together a plan for Mike to stay at the office without being stuck in one of their offices. Jessica had installed a daycare system in the law firm where employees could be sure their children were in good hands while they were working. Hardman had thought it was a great idea, thinking more lawyers would want to join Pearson-Hardman. He had never imagined it was for Mike to be babysat while his guardians were working.

The social worker was impressed with their plan. They also had already filled the guardianship papers. Nathalie collected all of it and stood up. "I'll keep you updated. But you have made a good job and I can see you're willing to give Mike a good childhood." She then left the house.

Jessica released the breath she has been holding. She had hope she could keep her job and Mike at the same time, thanks to Harvey.

As she watched the two boys excitedly talk about the movie they were watching, she could see how Harvey and she could manage to raise a boy together. They would make this work.

* * *

Two weeks later, Jessica, Harvey and Mike had settled in their new arrangements. Mike was enjoying the daycare at the law firm, which was not too far from Jessica's office.

Harvey had taken his new role seriously. He was now Mike's favorite person. They spent all their free time together and Harvey loved having the boy around in his condo. He has set up the guest bedroom to accommodate the little boy. Their bond was only getting stronger.

When Mike was not with Harvey, he was with Jessica. The two continued their routine like before and Jessica continued to cherish it.

Jessica was in the middle of working on a brief when she heard a knock at the door. She looked up to see her secretary with a letter in her hand. She gave it to the managing partner. On the envelope, she saw the social services address. Her heart beat faster and she called Harvey to her office.

He arrived in no time. "Is that…?" he began to ask.

"Yes" Jessica answered. Both couldn't wait any longer and Jessica ripped the envelope and got the letter out. It was their guardianship papers with a big red stamp on it written 'APPROUVED' on it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: This chapter contains bullying**

* * *

It has been 2 years since Jessica and Harvey had become Mike's legal guardians. They've been able to work everything out.

All three were inseparable. They loved to do activities together. Harvey was really taking his role seriously, and Jessica couldn't be happier about that. He was always available when Mike needed him. Every parent-teacher conference, every school project and Mike had even taken martial arts course and every Saturday morning, Harvey was cheering for him.

Jessica was also loving her role as Mike's guardian. Ever since he had learned to read, he was insisting that he read the bedtime stories while Jessica had to do the voices. She had also learned what he liked -dogs, books and school- and what he didn't like -fights, snakes and broccolis.

Donna had also taken her role as Aunt Donna very seriously. Every chance she got, she would spoil Mike rotten. Jessica and Harvey even had to sit down and limit the number of toys she could give him by one per month. Being the Donna we know and love, she protested, but she was up against the two best lawyers in New York. She had given up, but still got the largest toy she found in Wal-Mart and gave it to Mike the next month.

The family was enjoying every chance it got to be together. They loved to take pictures and now Jessica's and Harvey's desks were filled with pictures of Mike. At Thanksgiving, at Christmas, New Year's Eve, Easter, etc. Mike was growing fast and his guardians didn't want to miss a second of his childhood.

Mike was now 6 years old and he had begun school. He still loved learning about everything, and all his teachers had told Jessica and Harvey that Mike was a genius. The principal had even tried to persuade the guardians to enroll Mike in a school for geniuses. But Mike only had two friends, Trevor and Jenny, and he cared a lot about them. Separating him from his only friends would upset the child and Jessica and Harvey wanted him to live a normal life. Still, school was really easy for Mike, but he enjoyed it, nevertheless.

It was 2 pm and Jessica was finishing a brief. She had a meeting with a client in an hour and she needed to get ready, so when her phone rang, she was tempted to ask her secretary to take the message. But, as managing partner of the firm, it was her duty to be available, so she answered.

"Jessica Pearson" she said.

"Mrs. Pearson, this is Janis, the principal from New York's elementary school. Do you have a moment?"

Jessica knew this call was about Mike and she set her worry about her incoming meeting in the back of her head.

"Of course, is something wrong?" Jessica asked.

"I need you to come and pick up Mike. He was in the middle of a fight at recess and he is pretty shaken up" the principal said. Jessica couldn't believe her ears. Mike had been involved in a fight, but he hated any sorts of arguments.

"Is he all right?" Mike's guardian asked. She needed to know her Mike was okay.

"Yes, he was not harmed in the fight. But, as I said, he was shaken up and now he won't talk to anyone." That set Jessica's worry to an all time high. Mike was always the one to chat and it wasn't his type to shut himself.

"I'll be right there" Jessica said. She immediately called her secretary to let her reschedule all her meetings for the day. She picked up the phone and dialed Harvey's cell phone number. He answered immediately. He knew when she called on his cell phone, it was about Mike.

"Yes, Jess, what can I do for you?" he answered.

"Mike was involved in a fight. I need to go and pick him up" she explained. She knew she didn't need anymore indications; Harvey would know what to do.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Jessica could hear Harvey breathing. She could almost hear him thinking and wondering how this could have happened to Mike.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"I don't know anything more. I just know he won't talk to anyone."

"I'm in my office. Wait for me, I'm coming over. Ray is already downstairs" he said. Jessica could hear him pick up his things and tell Donna some instructions for the remaining day.

As soon as they hung up, Jessica picked up her coat and scarf and she waited for Harvey. It didn't take a minute and they were ready to go.

The ride to the elementary school wasn't long, but they spent it in silence. Each of them was lost in their thoughts and wondered how their little boy was.

When they finally arrived, they thanked Ray and immediately went to the principal's office. As soon as they entered the office, they saw Mike seating on a chair across for the principal's desk. His knees were up, and it seemed like he had been crying. Jessica didn't waste a moment and went to see him, without greeting the principal.

"Mike, what happened? How are you doing?"

"Mommy" he whined while his eyes filled with tears. Both Jessica and Harvey froze at hearing him. Never he had called neither of them Mommy nor Daddy. They both secretly wished for it to happen, but they didn't want to push Mike too much. He still thought about his real parents once in while. But, for Mike to call Jessica Mommy today, something wrong must have happened.

"Darling" she said, trying not to sound too worried "What happened?" she repeated.

Harvey and Janis the principal watched from behind the interaction. Harvey wanted to interfere, but he knew Jessica knew what she was doing. He had been as shocked as she was when Mike had called her Mommy. He tried not to let Mike see his shock, but the little boy had been too upset to see anything.

Seeing as Mike wouldn't say anything, the principal explained to them the complete story. "Some boys older than Mike had started to pick on him, because he was reading at recess instead of playing like everyone else. Seeing this, his friend Trevor came to the rescue, but a fight started between the boys. Mike tried to stop it, but he only got pushed a little. The teachers were able to end the fight. All the other boys were suspended."

From the corner of her eyes, Jessica saw that Mike had started to cry. He must be feeling all kind of emotions now, she thought. She ran a hand through his hair and across his back to try and calm him down while Harvey tried to get the contact infos of the boys' parents to give them a piece of his mind. Janis tried to calm Harvey and tell him everything was already dealt with, but she was talking to one of the best attorneys in the city. He wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted.

Sensing the tension rising and that Mike wasn't calming down, Jessica put a stop to Harvey's argument. "Harvey, stop it. We'll go home now." Mike was still small for his age and Jessica could still easily pick him up. Harvey helped her get Mike in his little coat on. Teachers had already brought his backpack and they were good to go.

Mike still hadn't said a word since the "M" bomb from earlier. Jessica and Harvey knew they would have to talk to him about that when he would be calm down. When they arrived in the car, they set the boy up in the car seat Ray had installed when the two guardians had been gone to the principal's office. Now, Harvey always kept a car seat in the trunk of the car in case Mike would be going to his home for the evening.

They went to Jessica's house. Both lawyers had meetings and what seemed to be hundreds of files on their desk, but now, Mike needed them more than they needed to be at the firm. They could care of it all the next morning.

On the way to the house, they could see Mike's eyes dropping. The emotions of the day must have exhausted him. When they arrived, Mike was napping in his car seat. Harvey picked him up and immediately went to drop him in his bed in his room. When he joined Jessica in the kitchen, she was filling two glasses of red wine. She handed one to him. "What are thinking about?" she asked Harvey. He has his thinking face.

"Mike was being bullied today and we couldn't do anything. How could we have prevented this?" he asked Jessica, but he knew he would not have answers to his questions. Nothing could have prevented this. Mike was different. They had to deal with this. It would have happened sooner or later. Maybe in the school for geniuses, children were reading at recess, but the principal was kind enough to not rub this fact in their faces.

"At least, we know he has someone to watch his back" Jessica added. "If it weren't for Trevor, maybe Mike would have been hurt in this fight" she said.

The two guardians got settled at the kitchen table with some briefs Jessica had brought home, waiting for Mike to wake up. Maybe an hour later, they heard Mike calling for them from his bed. Generally, when he woke up from a nap, he liked to be read a story with a glass of milk. "Harvey, Jessica" they could hear his little voice calling from his bedroom.

"I'll go" Jessica volunteered, standing up to bring Mike his glass of milk.

"I'll come with you" Harvey said in a voice that left no room for argument, not that Jessica would object to that.

When they entered Mike's room, a glass of milk in Jessica's hand, they could see Mike had been crying. His eyes were puffy and red, and he still had tears track on his cheeks.

"Mikey" it was the nickname Nina used to call Mike when he was ill or upset, and Jessica had begun using it too. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Mike reached for the glass of milk in Jessica's hand. "Fine" he lied.

Harvey gave him an incredulous look. "Do you want to talk about what happened today?" he asked his protegee.

Mike begun to cry. To sob even. "They… were… so mean" he managed to say between sobs.

Jessica couldn't handle to see him so sad. She took his glass and set it down on his nightstand. Seeing as his sobs were getting worse, she hopped on the bed behind Mike and snuggled him close to her chest. Harvey watched the interaction.

But Mike wasn't calming down. It got to a point where he had difficulty breathing. "I can't… breath…" he panicked.

Harvey got in front of him on the bed. He put his two hands on each sides of Mike's head. "Just breath, Mike. You're okay. You need to breath" he told the boy. Behind Mike, Jessica was rubbing his back. "Match my breathing. You can do it" Harvey started to take deep breaths to show Mike how to calm down. It took a few moments, but eventually, Mike was calm enough to talk to them.

"They said some mean things. They said I was a freak because I didn't want to play soccer with the others." Mike related what happened that day. "I wanted them to go away. They wouldn't hear it. Trevor came and defended me, but they continued. Trevor punched the leader of their gang. I didn't want to get him in trouble" Mike's filled with tears again, but this time, he managed to stay calm.

"You are not a freak Mike" Jessica told him. "What Trevor did was very brave, but he didn't have to do it. You didn't get him in trouble because he decided on hos own to throw a punch."

"If these boys come to bother you, Mike, you should go and get an adult. You should also talk to us about it. But you must remember that there is nothing wrong to prefer to read instead of playing soccer with the others" Harvey reassured him.

Mike only nodded, sipping the glass of milk Jessica had given him.

Jessica and Harvey looked at each other. They didn't know if they should address the "M" word just yet or wait if it was only an accident and that Mike would return to call them 'Jessica' and 'Harvey'.

Finally, Harvey didn't want to wait. He had hoped Mike would see him as a Dad and he would be proud to present him as his father. "Mike, about what you said earlier in Janis' office."

"Yeah… What about it?" Mike asked, looking embarrassed. He clearly remembered what he had said in the principal's office. It had slipped off his tongue by mistake.  
"Well, we want to know how you feel about it" Jessica said. She wanted to know just as much as Harvey.

"It was a mistake. It won't happen again" Mike said, quickly, looking down at his lap.

Harvey put a finger under his chin, bringing it up and locked his eyes with Mike's. "We don't mind if you call us Mommy and Daddy, Mike. We would be proud, but we want it to be something you want" Jessica and he had talk about it. They knew Nina and James still had a big place in Mike's heart. They would never replace them, but they would be honored to be seen as Mike's parents.

Mike looked alternately from Harvey to Jessica to analyse their reactions. Both were smiling at the boy in Jessica's lap, encouraging him to take a decision.

"I love my real Mommy and my real Daddy. But they are with the angels now. I don't think they would mind, as long as I am happy. They also said happiness is the most important thing in the world" Mike finally said. "I want you to be my Mom and my Dad"

Jessica and Harvey simultaneously sighed a sigh of relief. They had held their breath while Mike had taken a decision. Mike was always a smart boy.

"Well, then, we should celebrate our new family" Jessica said. "And I don't know how we can celebrate without some pizza!"

Mike smiled excitedly at that. "With stuffed crust?" he asked with hope.

"Why don't you ask your Dad?" Jessica loved the feeling of their new titles on her tongue.

"Dad, please!" Mike begged his new father.

Even if Harvey had wanted, he couldn't possibly have declined the little boy what he wanted. He got up and went to order while Jessica read to Mike a story.

And if someone had asked him if he had cried at that moment, he would have answered no. But, Jessica, the woman who saw everything, had noticed his slightly red and glassy eyes when he returned from the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter contains mention of spanking.

* * *

Mike was 8 the first time Jessica and Harvey grounded him. They've scolded him multiple times in the past and threatened to ground him a few times, but they've never acted on their threat. Mike was usually a well-behaved child. He always followed the rules and Jessica and Harvey were patient with him.

Nevertheless, this time, Mike had gone way too far. It was a Sunday and Jessica had the day off. Harvey was working in the morning and he would be joining them in the afternoon to go to the zoo.

Jessica was cooking their lunch while Mike was playing outside with his friend Trevor. The two boys lived not too far from each other. Every weekend, Trevor and Mike would spend the entire day playing outside, whichever the weather. Trevor's mother had even volunteered to watch after Mike when Jessica and Harvey had to work on the weekends.

Jessica was in the middle of making a giant soup when Mike came running into the kitchen. "Mom, Trevor wants to go to the park with his mom, can we go?" he asked, breathlessly.

Jessica hated to say no to him, but Harvey would be there soon, and he would want to leave for the zoo early enough. When Mike and Trevor went to the park, there was no way they would be back before it was dark outside. "No Mike" Jessica told him. "Your father will be there soon" she explained.

"But- "he began to answer.

"No buts. You must not leave the neighborhood. Now, you have a few minutes left before lunch is ready, why don't you go back and play for a while." Jessica said to her son.

Mike putted but went back outside, nonetheless.

Maybe 15 minutes later, lunch was ready, and Jessica went to fetch Mike outside.

"Mike, say bye to Trevor, lunch is ready" she called from the backdoor. She waited for a few moments to hear Mike's footsteps coming back inside the house, but none came. Odd, she thought. Maybe he didn't hear her. She put on her shoes and went to see him outside. Normally, Trevor and he would play soccer or hockey in the backyard. But they weren't there. Sometimes, they would go to Trevor's house. Sighing to herself, Jessica went to Trevor's. She had thought she didn't need to mention to Mike to not leave too far away.

Arriving at Trevor's, she knocked on the front door. She waited a few moments, but no one came to answer her. She then went around to see if they were in the backyard. She knew Trevor's mom wouldn't mind. But then she saw no one. She immediately started to panic. Her son and his friend were nowhere to be found, but she had seen Mike not 20 minutes ago. She ran back to her house to see if Mike had miraculously appeared. He was still not there.

She ran inside the house and grabbed her cellphone. She directly called Harvey. He didn't take time to answer, as usual. "Jess, I just finished, I'm on my way over" he told her, oblivious to the situation.

"Harvey, it's Mike. I don't know where he is", she told him with a panicked voice.

"What do you mean?" Harvey was instantly listening.

"I went to call him to eat but he is not in the backyard. I went to Trevor's house; he is not there also."

"Did he talk about somewhere he wanted to be?"

"Yes… He said he wanted to go to the park, but I told him no" Jessica explained. The idea of going to the park to see if he was there had crossed her mind, but she knew he wouldn't disobey her like that.

Harvey sighed at the other end of the line. Until then, Mike had been the perfect little boy, but he knew he would try to push the boundaries. "Listen Jess, I'm going to go at the park. You stay there in case he comes back" he explained his plan, trying to sound calm.

"No, Mike always obeys me. He wouldn't do that" Jessica argued.

"That's what we're going to see. I'll call you if there is anything" Harvey then hung up. He instructed Ray to go to the park first. He had a feeling he would find Mike there. Until then, Mike has been their perfect little boy. He was bound to disobey once. Harvey had tried to consult Jessica about how they would handle Mike's discipline, but she always said they would cross the bridge when they get there. Mike had never needed more than a few words to be put back on tracks. But it was different this time.

When Harvey was a kid, his father would spank his ass if he ever had to disobey or if he did something mischievous. Even though he loved his father, Harvey would not do that to Mike. He could not bear to ear him cry and knowing he was the cause of that pain.

Harvey knew Jessica's parents has a similar approach. She may be an amazing lawyer who didn't show her emotion, but she also wouldn't be able to make Mike suffer. They had to find a way to discipline their son that would please them both.

Soon, Ray pulled over at the park. Harvey got out and his driver waited for him inside the car.

It didn't take two minutes that Harvey had found his son on the monkey bar alongside his best friend Trevor. The child was laughing at something his friend had said. His fun was about to end very soon. Harvey crossed the park in three strides. He was furious. A part of him knew the child would disobey, but he still hoped he had been wrong. Seeing his child there, unknowingly worrying both of his parents, had Harvey seeing red. Lying to Jessica and leaving without telling her was inacceptable and Mike was about to see why he shouldn't disobey his parents.

"Mike" Harvey yelled from across the park. As soon as the child saw his father, all the color drained from his face. He knew he was in big trouble. Harvey crossed the park in a few strides. "Do you know in how much trouble you are?" the father asked as soon as he was near his son. Mike couldn't speak as fear was setting in him. "Your mother is worried sick at her house. You disappeared without saying anything." Harvey explained.

"Sorry" Mike croaked.

"You will be sorry" Harvey promised before dragging Mike across the park by his arm.

Trevor's mother, who was watching the two boys play came to see them. "What's going on, Harvey?" she asked. She put her cardigan around herself as the wind was blowing hard. It was clear to Harvey she was unknowing to his child's shenanigans.

"Jessica called me because she didn't know where Mike was. You wouldn't know anything about it?" he asked. At his side, Mike dropped his eyes to the floor.

"Jessica didn't know?" she said, surprised. "Mike assured me she was okay with him coming to the park with Trevor and I. If I had known Jessica didn't approve, I wouldn't have let him come" she added.

"Thank you. I believe you. We'll let you know when Mike will be out of punishment." Harvey said as he continued to drag his son to the car. Ray was still waiting for them. Harvey and Mike got inside the car. Harvey instructed him to drive them to Jessica's house. On the way there, Harvey phoned Jessica to let her know he had found Mike and they were on their way. All the way to the house, Mike was silent. Clearly, he felt guilty. Good, thought Harvey.

Soon, they arrived at the house. Jessica was waiting for them on the porch, arms crossed. Mike got out of the car, he went directly inside the house, without looking at Jessica. As he went by, the managing partner just wanted to smack him on the back of his head. "Go to your room. We'll talk there when Harvey and I will be ready" was all she said to her son. She could hear his little footsteps up the stairs.

Jessica looked at Harvey with what he could describe as disappointment. Mike was their little boy and he had disobeyed them without second thought. Jessica had been worried sick. She had thought about all the scenarios that could have happened. Losing Mike would be the hardest thing to happen to her and she knew Harvey felt the same.

"I can't believe he did that" she finally said.

"He didn't mean to make you worry. He just wanted to spent time with his friend."

"Still, I told him no. He should've listened" Jessica insisted.

Harvey could only nod. They needed to deal with his behavior. Together they went up the stairs. When they opened the door to Mike's room, they were surprised to discover all his clothes and his favorite toys were all scattered around his room. Mike was generally pretty messy, but they could always see the floor. Not this time. In the middle of his room, Mike putting everything he own in his Batman suitcase. Tears were making their way down his cheeks. From time to time, he would sniffle. He hadn't notice them yet, too busy with his mission.

"Mike?" Harvey called. He was preoccupied by his son's behavior. He had never imagined he would want to run away, even at 6 years old.

They saw Mike's shoulders jump but he didn't look up at them and he continued to pack his things away.

"What are you doing, sweetie?" Jessica asked, while kneeling to his height. They could hear their son was crying harder.

"You're going to send me away" was all Mike could say between sobs. That broke Jessica's heart. It was the last thing she wanted him to believe.

"We would never" she assured him.

"But you're not my real parents. You are my foster parents. Ricky at school told me foster parents got rid of kids easily" Mike explained to Harvey and Jessica, finally looking up.

According to Mike's teacher, Ricky was bad news. He was a bad influence on his peers and Jessica and Harvey wanted him as far away as possible for this exact reason.

It was Harvey's turn to kneel. "Listen Mike. Yes, you screwed up today. We are disappointed in you, but we would never send you away. This is not what we do" he said, placing his hand on top of Mike's little one.

Mike found the courage to look directly at Harvey's eyes to see if he was serious. He just hoped it wasn't one of his joke that he was playing on Mike. But he only saw seriousness and love.

Mike smiled at him, reassured by his words. He started getting everything out of his suitcase.

Harvey and Jessica were glad their son had changed his mind. They had read foster kids had sometimes a hard thrusting their foster parents, but it was definitely not Mike's case.

Jessica, being the nearest to Mike, wrapped him in a big hug, relieved he was finally safe at home. When they parted away, Jessica and Harvey became serious again and were ready to talk about Mike's behavior.

"Mike" Harvey started "we want to know why you went to the park, even though your mother had forbidden you"

The little boy looked down at his hands in his lap. He knew they had to talk, but he wanted this conversation to wait.

"You don't know how worried I was" Jessica confessed. "I've looked everywhere for you "

Mike felt guiltier. He never wanted for his mother to be worried. "When I told Trevor you didn't want me to go the park, he told me that if we told his mother you'd agreed, no one would know it"

Harvey wasn't surprised by this confession. He'd never liked Trevor. He was always putting wrong ideas in Mike's head. "So, you believed Trevor?" Harvey asked. Mike nodded. His father sighed.

Harvey and Jessica shared a look. They needed to come up with a punishment. "Mike, you are forbidden to see your friend Trevor for the next three weeks. You can't play with your video games too." Harvey said. He wanted Mike to remember his punishment but didn't want the boy to be miserable. One look at Jessica told him she agreed with him.

Mike sighed. It wasn't as worst as he had expected. The last thing he wanted was for his parents to send him away. Anything else wasn't a punishment if he had Jessica and Harvey by his sides.

"And it begins today. We are not going to the zoo." Jessica added.

Mike looked disappointed but he knew better than to argue. He nodded at them.

Jessica was about to leave the room when Harvey stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. He got some papers out of his coat and handed them to Jessica. Mike was watching with interest.

"I wanted to talk to you both about this over dinner, but seeing we are not going, I'll talk to you about it now" he started. "I asked for some adoption papers. If you both agree, Mike will be our real son by the end of the year. I have a few contacts." He explained with a smile. He knew both Mike and Jessica would be thrilled by this. They've talk about it a few times, but they've never acted on it.

The way their faces lit up told Harvey what he wanted to know.


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: This chapter contains drug use.

* * *

On a cold Thursday night in November, 15 years-old Mike was laying on his bed, listening to some music. His day had been easy. He had a test in the morning, but his eidetic memory had been enough for him to master the test. Days in high school were long and boring, but, fortunately, he had Trevor and Jenny to keep him company. He didn't have to do homework or study for tests. That made a lot of other students jealous, but his friends were always there for him. It helped that they could cheat on him occasionally when they hadn't had time to study.

Mike was half-asleep when Jessica barged into his room. Mike was immediately woken up. He sat up straight on his bed.

When he was a child, he had a strong relationship with Jessica. She was always there for him and they did plenty of activities together. But as he grew, Jessica found herself busier with her work as managing partner and had less time for her adoptive son. That led to a few arguments between the two of them. After a particularly heated argument last week where both said things they regretted, they weren't much on talking terms.

"I need to go out to dinner with a client tonight" she told Mike. "Will you be alright or you want me to call your father?" she asked.

Mike rolled his eyes. Jessica was always at a meeting or a dinner with someone. It was like everyone was more important than Mike.

Jessica, seeing this, felt anger rising inside her. Her relation with Mike was worsening and she was trying to keep things healthy between the two of them, but it wasn't easy.

Mike lived 24/7 at her house. Since he was 12, Mike didn't spend a lot of time at his father's. His things were at Jessica's, and Harvey's condo was smaller than Jessica's big house. That meant Jessica was with Mike most of time and she was left with the unpleasant parenting stuff: the grounding, checking his curfew and who he was spending time with.

"Mike, I know we don't see eye-to-eye these days, but you know I want to spend time with you. It's just a little more difficult at the firm." Jessica tried to explain to her son. She was having a hard-time as the only managing-partner since Hardman left to 'take care of his sick wife'.

Mike just wanted her to leave him alone. He didn't want to talk about his feelings to his mother. "It's okay, Mom. I'll manage on my own."

"No, I can see you're hurting. We can do something this week-end to catch up." Jessica told him. She wanted to make things right with her son.

This was the last straw for Mike. "I have my debate with the debate club this week-end!" Mike told her, angrily. "You promised you wouldn't forget and you would be there with dad!" Her son couldn't believe it. It was the only thing he had asked of her.

"Of course, I'm sorry, Mike. I'll be there, I promise." Jessica told him quickly. She knew she had made a mistake.

But Mike didn't want to hear it anymore. He quickly got up from his bed and grabbed his backpack. He didn't want to spend another minute with Jessica.

"Where are you going?" she asked her son.

"I'm going to Dad's." he told her while leaving his room. She was quick to follow him.

"Mike, we need to talk about this."

"I have nothing to say to you" if Mike was honest with himself, he had to admit he had been rude to his mother. But the anger he felt was incomparable to her feelings. Mike finally reached the door handle of the front door and swiftly swung it open.

"Mike, wait" he heard Jessica called after him. But Mike didn't listen and forcefully closed the door behind him. He took his bike and started to bike his way to Harvey's. Knowing the way by heart, it took less than 10 minutes to reach his father's condo.

On the way there, Mike couldn't help but wonder how Jessica had managed to forget about his important debate. It was the first debate between different schools he would participate in. He was beyond excited about it and had reminded both Harvey and Jessica multiple times.

Arriving at Harvey's condo, Mike parked his bike on the rack Harvey had someone install just for Mike. The teenager greeted the doorman and headed straight for the elevator. Pushing the button for the fourteenth floor, he waited on the metal box, still fuming inside. His mother didn't seem to stop disappointing him these days.

It wasn't long before Mike stood in front of Harvey's front door. It was locked, unsurprisingly since his father didn't know Mike was coming. Picking his spare key, Mike unlocked the door. Upon entering the condo, Mike heard someone tumbling and a few curse words in the living room. The teenager dropped his backpack on the ground and went to explore what was happening.

"Who's there?" Mike heard his dad shout from the living room. He seemed a little out of breath.

"It's me, Dad" Mike called. He slowly made his way to the living room.

When the younger man entered the room, he immediately covered his eyes with his hands. Standing in front of him, his dad was shirtless and rummaging around trying to find his lost shirt. Sitting on the couch, a pretty woman with long brown hair was trying to cover herself with a blanket.

"Mike, what are you doing here?" Harvey asked, sounding almost angry at his son, still looking for his shirt.

"I got into a fight with Mom, I was hoping I could stay here for a few days." Mike said, his eyes still covered. If he had known his dad was getting laid, he would have stayed at his mom's.

"You should have called" Harvey said "I was busy"

"Obviously" Mike muttered under his breath. The teenager heard his father had stopped moving around and Mike uncovered his eyes. His father was standing there completely dressed along with his lady friend. "I didn't know I needed to call every time I wanted to come. I thought you said this was my home too" Mike said, disappointed in his father.

"Well, Mike, you can't always have what you want." Harvey said. "I have a life outside of you. Now, you're a big boy. You can't always come running here when you have trouble with your mother. Now, can I do something for you?" His father said, quite rudely.

Mike couldn't believe his father was talking to him like that. "No" he managed to say, trying not to sound too shaken by his father's rudeness.

Harvey turned to the woman on his couch "Scottie, why don't we go and take a drink while Mike gets settle in his room." He suggested.

Once more, Mike felt disappointment. Harvey seemed like he couldn't care less about him. More than that, Mike felt anger towards his parents. "No need, I'll let you guys alone. I'm going to Trevor's" he said.

Harvey looked at him with a murderous look. Mike knew his father hated Trevor and wanted Mike as far away as possible and that, since they were kids. Harvey was always telling his son how much his friend was a bad influence. Hanging out with Trevor would be the best way to piss off Harvey.

Without hearing what his father had to say on the matter, Mike turned around, grabbed his backpack and left Harvey's condo building. If Mike had been more attentive, he would have noticed the half-empty bottle of scotch on Harvey's kitchen table. He would have also noticed the slur in his voice. His father was a little beyond tipsy and that was why he was acting like that toward Mike. He hadn't meant to be rude to his son or to seem as if he didn't care about him. As for Jessica, she had a lot of pressure on her shoulders and if she had checked her agenda, she would have seen she had taken the week-end off for Mike's debate and she wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Mike got on his bike and biked his way to Trevor's. He knew his friend was home and he wouldn't mind Mike staying for a few hours until he calmed down.

Mike knocked on the front door to Trevor's house and his mother almost immediately answered. She had aged since Mike had met her and she also changed a lot. Her husband had left her for a younger woman three years prior and it really affected her. She couldn't seem to be able to keep her job and she had trouble with gambling. Nevertheless, she loved her son and Mike was always welcome to her house.

"Hey Mike" she greeted "Trevor didn't tell me you were visiting us today"

"I got into a fight with my parents" Mike explained "I was hoping I can stay for a few hours"

"Of course," Trevor's mother answered. Even with all of her problems, she always had one of the biggest heart Mike knew. She moved herself to let Mike enter her house. The teenager didn't need a map to know where Trevor's room was. He climbed the stairs to the second floor.

When Mike entered Trevor's room -without knocking-, his friend was sprawled on his bed, reading a _Sports Illustrated_ magazine. Hearing his door open, Trevor looked up and was surprised to see his friend in front of him.

"Hey man" he greeted. Trevor was used to the fights between Mike and his parents and every time it happened; his friend found his way to his house.

"Can I hang out for a while?" Mike asked.

Trevor didn't need to answered and just made some space on the bed for Mike, tossing him another magazine. The two teenagers read their respective magazine until Trevor's mom entered his room.

"I'm going out tonight. Will you boys be alright?" the teenagers knew she was about to spend her paycheck at the casino but neither said anything.

"No, we'll be fine" Trevor said.

As soon as they heard the front door open and close, signaling them of Trevor's mom departure, Trevor put down his magazine and searched for something inside his backpack. Curious, Mike took a look at his friend to try and find what he was doing. It took a few seconds, but Trevor finally got a small metal box out of his bag to show it to Mike.

"Look what I bought with the money my dad gave me last week" the teenager said as he showed Mike the metal box.

Mike was weary to open the box. Trevor always came up with some dubious ideas and this seemed like one of them.

Finally opening the box, Mike was taken aback by what he found. In the box, he found three perfectly rolled joints. Never in his short life Mike had been this close to marijuana. He had seen some on a documentary on TV, but he never touched any of it.

"Where did you get this?" Mike asked, shocked.

"The coffee cart guy" Trevor answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He reached for the box and took a joint. Out of no where, he took a lighter out and lit the joint. Mike was hit with the smell. Trevor took the joint to his lips and breathed in. Clearly, he was used to it.

Soon, Trevor remembered he had a guest with him passed Mike the joint for him to take a puff.

"I don't smoke, Trev" Mike said. His parents had always forbidden him to smoke and warned him of the consequences of pot.

"No big deal, man" his friend told him but didn't extinguish his smoke.

Mike spent the next few moments watching his friend smoke in an awkward silence. Trevor didn't seem affected by his friend's reluctance to pot.

A little over 5 minutes later, Trevor had smoke half of his joint and Mike could already see changes in his friend's behavior. His muscles were less tense and he seemed to be light-headed.

The arguments with his parents came back to his mind, angering him. He wanted to make them angry like he had been angry hours ago.

Slowly, Mike reached out to the joint. With a smirk on his lips, Trevor gladly passed it to him. Awkwardly, Mike put the joint to his lips like he had seen on TV and breath in. Smoke invaded his lungs and Mike could not helped it, he coughed it immediately. He definitely did not look cool like it did in the movies. Trevor laughed at his friend's inexperience.

Mike debated in his head to know if he would try it again or leave it like that. Trevor saw his hesitation. "Come on, man. The first time is always the hardest. Try it again" he encouraged.

Mike slowly brought the joint to his lips for the second time. This time, he took a smaller puff and it went smoothly. The taste wasn't particularly good but Mike could guess knew why people smoke. Even with the few amount of marijuana he had in his body, Mike felt as if his brain had shut down. It was quieter in his brain. No words he had read would pop out unexpectedly. In a sense, Mike felt free of his brain.

Mike took one last puff before tossed it back to Trevor and let himself enjoy the effect. He felt as if, for the first time in his life, he could see clearly. His genius brain was a gift, but, in a sense, it was also a curse. He could remember every single word he had read in his life and it created a fog behind his eyes. With the pot, the fog was gone.

Mike could not remember the last time he had felt this euphoric. He felt as if he was invincible and nothing could stop him.

The joint was passed back and forth between Mike and Trevor until nothing was left. Both teenagers savoured their highs. They stared at nothing with a stupid smile on their faces.

Neither boys knew how long it took before they were brought back to the real life. They were 'woken up' by a knock on the door. They were quick to sit straight on the bed. No one could know what they had done.

Mike turned to his friend "Were you expecting someone?" he asked.

"No" answered Trevor as he went to his window with a view of the street. Mike joined him. Outside, both boys quickly spotted Jessica's shiny black Astin Martin. Mike gritted his teeth. Of course, she knew where he was, Harvey must have told her.

The teenagers waited a moment to see if she would give up and go home. But their hopes were shattered when another knock followed the first one. But this time, it was firmer and stronger. Definitely not Jessica. Harvey had followed her to Trevor's house.

Mike's cellphone rang inside his pocket and with a brief look at it, and saw his mother calling him. With a sigh, Mike hit ignore but he soon received an angry text from his father: "I know you are inside the house; we can see your bike. Answer us"

Mike didn't have any choice but to comply. Slowly, he made his way down the stairs, thinking of a way to hide the fact that he had just smoke a joint. Trevor was not far behind him. Mike came up with the brilliant idea to act as if nothing was wrong, his parents would not notice anything.

Mike opened the front door to reveal two angry and worried parents. "Hey guys" he said with a sheepish smile.

Immediately, Harvey and Jessica picked up the weird behavior with their son. "What happened?" Harvey asked, his voice, stern.

Mike visibly blanched before them. They knew he had done something and he would be grounded forever.

Jessica did not wait for an invitation and entered the house. Something smelled funny. Harvey followed right behind her.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked, afraid they'll know what the teenagers had been doing in Trevor's room.

"Just checking on you" was Harvey's brief answer as he looked around the room.

Mike could feel himself getting more anxious. At the time, it seemed like a bright idea to anger his parents but having them in front of him, he was not so sure about his decision.

Jessica and Harvey maybe were not as young as Mike, but they still knew what pot smelt like. And it definitely smelled like pot inside Trevor's house. But they did not want to put the blame on their teenager just yet. Like the good lawyers they were, they knew they needed proof of it.

Without asking, the parents climbed the stairs of Trevor's house. If they had to find proof of their son's misbehavior, they would find it in Trevor's room. The two teenagers followed them, thinking of a way to make them look else where without looking guilty.

The adults guessed which room was Trevor's and entered it. Sure enough, the smell was definitely stronger there. Harvey and Jessica did not have to look for a long time to find the metal box with the remaining joints inside; it was on Trevor's bed. Both parents turned toward their son.

"You smoked pot?" Jessica asked, knowing full well the answer.

"Well…" Mike was trying to find an answer that would satisfy them.

"Do not think of lying" Harvey added. No one hated lies more than Mike's adoptive father.

"Well, it was there" It was all Mike could say in his defense.

Jessica and Harvey could not believe their ears. Mike had just admitted to smoking pot and they knew Mike knew about the consequences of drugs.

First, they had to get Mike out of Trevor's house. His friend was, as always, bad news. Mike's answers to their questions would be different whether Trevor was there or not.

"Mike, go inside the car with Jessica and do not do something funny. You are in enough trouble." Harvey instructed. His son didn't waste any time and followed Jessica outside, leaving Harvey with Trevor.

As soon as his son was out of sight, Harvey turned toward Trevor, an angry look on his face.

"Trevor, what were you thinking? You could have gotten in much more trouble" Harvey tried to put some senses in the teenager's head.

"No big deal, we were just having fun." Trevor said nonchalantly. Harvey never liked Trevor and the feeling was reciprocal.

"Yeah, well, try to keep my son out of your stupid ideas." Harvey said, turning on his heels and leaving. It was not like he could ground Trevor; he was not his parent. And knowing Trevor's mother, she could not care less if her son were in all kind of illegal activities.

Once outside, Harvey saw Mike in the backseat of the car just beside his adoptive mother. They had left a space beside them for him. Once he got inside, Harvey instructed the driver to take them to Jessica's place.

No one dared to speak inside the vehicle. Mike knew he messed up big time. On Trevor's bed, all he could think about was to anger his parents. But seeing them really angry was a whole other story. But the teenager knew his parents were more than angry; they were disappointed too. And maybe, that was saddened him the most.

The drive back to Jessica's house wasn't long. Jessica and Mike got out, and, as expected, Harvey didn't go back to his condo and got out as well. Once inside, Mike just wanted to run to his room and hide forever. But Harvey didn't let him the chance to run and ordered him to sit at the table. Both of his parents sat in front of him.

"Mike…" Jessica started, but Harvey cut her.

"What were you thinking?" he barked. He didn't wait for his son to answer him and continued to talk. "You always talk about how you want to go to Harvard. Do you really think fooling around will get you far? What if you become addicted to that stuff? You'll ruin your life."

Mike honestly did not know what to answer. He didn't think that far when he accepted the joint from Trevor.

"And you really think Trevor is a good friend? I've always told you he was an anchor and he would drag you down."

That was it for Mike "Well, at least, Trevor cares about me" he snapped.

Jessica and Harvey knew what he was talking about. Forgetting about his important debate and not letting him inside the condo.

"Honey" Jessica started "we're very sorry. We didn't mean to do those things to you." Harvey nodded his head beside her.

Mike had trouble believing them. All he wanted was for his parents to be more present.

Harvey then got something out of his pocket. It was a brochure. "My father threatened to send me there when I was acting up back in my teenage years. I was thinking about it and I think it would be beneficial for you to go. You really need to cut Trevor out of your life and this would be the easiest way to do it"

Mike picked up the brochure and saw it was for an all-boy pensionary. "You're not serious, right?" Mike exclaimed. He always had been serious about his studies and he was rarely in trouble.

"Mike, we know your true potential. We know you can go far in life if you work for it. But hanging out with people with a bad influence on you will only bring you down" Jessica tried to explain.

"Well, the way I see it you want to get rid of me because you think it's too difficult to raise a child" Mike said. Gone was the guilt, Mike was now furious. He could not believe his parents.

"This is not it and you know it." It was Harvey's turn to explain. "We came to the conclusion that some things needed to change. And that start with cutting Trevor out of your life. Of course, we don't want to send you away, but if it comes to this, we will have to."

"Let's make a deal," Jessica said, "we will forget everything that has happened today if you stop hanging out with Trevor." Jessica knew her son's next argument so she continued: "you have plenty of friends, you hang out with Rachel and Harold in the debate club." As she talked, Jessica took the brochure in her hands and, to show the truthfulness of her words, she teared the paper.

Mike seemed to think about it for a second, but he soon found himself nodding. Cutting Trevor off of his life would be hard, but he could not picture himself going to an all-boy pensionary.

Jessica and Harvey grinned at their victory. All they wanted was for their son to be happy and successful and Trevor, from their childhood, had been bad news.

Jessica was the first to stand up and offer Mike a hug. She never wanted to send him away. She would miss him too much. Harvey joined the hug and they were starting to feel like a family again.

"What about a hot cocoa and a movie?" Harvey suggested.


End file.
